The House Of Serpents
by AstoriaAliceMalfoy
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots about Slytherins. Will include: Draco, the rest of the Malfoys, Andromeda, Astoria, Theodore, Blaise, Pansy and many others. For 'Your Favourite Hogwarts House Boot Camp Challenge'
1. Stars

So, this is for 'Your Favourite Hogwarts House Boot Camp Challenge'. It'll include 50 drabbles and one-shots about Slytherins. I'll try to update weekly. Every Monday if I can :)

**Note: This doesn't mean that I'm done with 'For Every Frozen Heart'**

Feel free to suggest pairings and/or characters. And...ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I mustn't tell lies, right? So I own none of the characters etc. etc.

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**Prompt: Stars**

**Pairing: Daphne Greengrass/Graham Montague**

Daphne was merely a fourth year when she first met Graham. He was a sixth year at the time, so she'd never had any reason to pay attention to him or anything he was doing.

One day, however, she was sitting in the library which in itself was already very rear, she saw a group of sixth year boys reading some potion books. Daohne herself was far too lost in her Astronomy homework to pay attention to the fact that one of those boys was staring at her. She didn't have time for things like that. No, she had to learn the names of at least ten stars and how to find them.

Daphne was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Stars. Stars. Stars. Honestly, didn't professor Sinistra have anything better to do than give her students impossible homework? Because that's what learning the names and locations of stars was. Impossible.

Suddenly something hit Daphne.

"What the...?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm so sorry", one of the sixth years boys said as he came to pick up the small book which had hit Daphne, "I asked them not to play with the books"

Daphne narrowed her eyes at the boy. She knew he was lying. Slytherins never apologized. She was interested though, in why the boy had made the book hit her. Why her instead of all the other girls and boys in the library?

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"Yes", Daphne answered and turned back to her Astronomy homework.

"Stars, huh?" the boy asked, "I'm Graham Montague, by the way"

"Daphne Greengrass", Daphne sighed. Why couldn't the boy, Graham or whatever his name was, leave already?

"Are you having trouble with you homework?" Graham asked. Daphne leaned back in her chair and turned to stare at him

"Maybe I wouldn't be, if you stopped bothering me", she said.

"Learning the names of stars is really easy, you know. Much easier than potions", Graham said. Apparently he was pretending that he hadn't heard Daphne's comment.

"Maybe it would be easy, if I was even interested! Stars are boring! Who cares about them", Daphne really hated Astronomy, but she had no idea why she was telling that to Graham Montague. Wasn't he a quidditch player?

"I don't think stars are boring. They remind me of diamonds", he said. Daphne stared at him for a moment. Diamonds? Really?

"What?" he asked when he noticed her expression, "They look like small diamonds in the sky!"

"Right", Daphne said, turning back to her homework.

"I can help you with your homework, you know. If you need help. I reckon you'll find me in the common room", Graham said with a small smirk on his face. Daphne didn't even look up from her homework.

"Brilliant", she said.

Graham went back to his friends, making Daphne look up. She couldn't help but to think about what just happened. Graham Montague, a sixth year quidditch player, had just offered to help her with her homework. Suddenly, the stars seemed a bit too hard to learn on her own. She'd might have to ask him for advice. He made the stars seem a lot more interesting.

**REVIEW?**


	2. Lost

**AN: **So, as I promised. Here is the second one. Only 48 left

Disclaimer: I own noooooothing.

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**Prompt: Lost**

**Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Astoria Greengrass**

Draco felt hopeless, lost, desperate and so many other things at the same time. He knew that his task ought to be simple to any Death Eater. Kill Dumbledore. "How difficult can it be?" he'd asked himself at the beginning of his sixth year at Hogwarts. The answer had come to him very soon. More difficult than expected.

He couldn't really march in to Dumbledore's office and kill him. No, he'd get caught. He had to be smarter. It had to be so smart, that one of the greatest wizards of his time, wouldn't see it coming. Easy, right?

So many things had already gone wrong. Katie Bell had touched the necklace and had been sent to St. Mungo's. Ronald Weasley had drank the poisoned mead, but survived. These Gryffindors were really a piece of work, weren't they? Always stopping his attempts to succeed.

After spending hours upon hours staring at the Vanishing Cabinet, Draco felt tired. He felt like he needed to sleep, but intead he was sitting in the common room alone, trying to figre out how to fix it. Suddenly something hit his shoulder. Draco got up from the couch he'd been sitting on and pointed his wand at the attacker. But it turned out that there was no attacker.

It was Astoria Greengrass. A fourth year, whose sister was in Draco's year. She was carrying a plate and a mug. Draco slowly lowered his wand, deciding that this girl wasn't dangerous to him.

With a small smile, Astoria sat next to Draco and placed the plate and mug on the small table in front of him.

"What is that?" Draco asked. The words felt like knives in his throat. He had spent too much time silent, not even attempting to talk to anyone.

"I never see you eat in the Great Hall, and by the looks of it, you don't eat at all. So I brought you some tea and something to eat", Astoria told him. It surprised Draco how Astoria wasn't afraid of him. She didn't seem to even dislike him.

"I..." Draco didn't know what he was supposed to say. He slowly turned to look at Astoria and instead of seeing an angry expression like he'd expected, he saw that Astoria was smiling warmly at him.

"Just eat it", she said, "the house elves will take away the rest away. You don't have to worry" Draco stared at Astoria's dark hair for a moment. The little light that was left in the room, shone off of Astoria's hair. She _was_ the little light that was left. With one more warm smile, Astoria left and Draco couldn't help but to think that maybe, just maybe he wouldn't be lost in the darkness forever. Maybe Astoria would be his light.

_**Reviews make me happy** _


	3. Knight in Shining Armour

**Prompt: Knight in Shining Armour**

**Pairings: Tracey Davis/Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis/Theodore Nott**

Tracey was shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. Had she been foolish to think that he'd be faithful to her?

About fifteen minutes ago, Tracey had returned to the dungeons from the library, only to find her boyfriend, Blaise Zabini, snogging another girl. Once Blaise had seen her, he'd stopped snogging the girl, only to be slapped by Tracey. How could he do that to her? She'd thought that they really had something.

But apparently Blaise disagreed. He'd tried to talk to her, but she'd made it rather clear that she had nothing to say to him. Nor did Tracey want to hear him explain how he hadn't meant to kiss the girl, how it had been merely an accident or some other rubbish like that.

No. She was Tracey Davis. She didn't need a guy! She was brilliant on her own, she didn't need a guy to hold her back.

"Is it true?" asked Pansy Parkinson who was standing right in front of Tracey. "Is it true that he cheated on you?"

Tracey didn't bother to answer. She didn't have to answer to someone like Parkinson.

"I'm talking to you!", Pansy said and grabbed Tracey's arm.

"Yes, I heard", Tracey said, "And I really can't see how it's your business. Shouldn't you be more concerned about the fact that your own boyfriend is cheating on you?"

She knew that that would make Pansy leave her and march straight to Draco. How did Tracey know that Draco was cheating on Pansy? Who cares?! Who cared if someone cheated on Pansy?

Tracey went to sit on another chair in another corner, deciding that she had been wrong. She and Blaise had never had anything special between them. He wasn't her knight in shining armour.

"Are you alright?" asked a voice next to her. Tracey jumped off of her chair and stared at the speaker. He had really scared her.

"I'm alright", she said and sat back on to her chair. For a moment she stared at Theodore Nott, who had so kindly asked about her well-being. Blaise hadn't been her knight in shining armour. But maybe Theodore would be.


	4. Sunshine

**Pairing: None really... just a peek in to Daphne and Astoria's minds**

Dumbledore's funeral was something that Daphne had never expected to see. She had thought that Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard on earth. How the Death Eater had even gotten in to Hogwarts was completely beyond her.

Astoria, on the other hand, had seen this coming. There was no way that Malfoy just happened to disappear after Dumbledore died. He'd been acting rather suspiciously for months, so it came as no surprise to Astoria to hear that he'd had something to do with it. It was odd however, that she'd never really believed that Malfoy would succeed. She'd always thought that Dumbledore would be the one to win. But no. He'd been the one to die instead of Malfoy or Snape.

The sisters watched how the sunshine reflected from Dumbledore's marble grave. It was beautiful really, how the grave bathed in the light. But even though the sun seemed to shine more brightly than ever, every Slytherin, including Daphne and Astoria, could feel a darkness coming towards Hogwarts.

Dumbledore had been a beacon of light in the dark world. The sunshine which had protected them from the darkness of the Dark Lord. But now he was gone. Dumbledore was gone and the sunshine was fading.


	5. Daydream

**Pairing: Draco/Astoria, hints of Blaise/Tracey, also some Slytherin 'friendship'**

Draco was lying on his bed, all alone. It was the middle of Saturday, and Draco knew that he was supposed to be out there, fixing the Vanishing Cabinet or coming up with another plan. But his mind was occupied by other things, or more like other people. It had really been a shock to him when he'd waken up in the middle of the night, only to realize that he'd just had a dream about a girl he barely knew.

Draco had no idea who Astoria Greengrass really was. Was she really as kind as people said? Was she as smart as other Slytherin girls? What was she like? The only thing that Draco's dream had made him realize, was that he thought that Astoria was rather pretty. And what was he supposed to do with that information? It distrubed him how easily this girl had snaked her way in to his mind.

One day Draco hadn't even known what she looked like, and the next day he wasn't capable of thinking about anything else except for her. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Suddenly the door to the dormitory opened and Blaise Zabini stormed in. He was cursing rather loudly.

"What's wrong with you?" Draco asked, not as amused as he should have been.

"Tracey! She slapped me", Blaise exclaimed. Draco only raised an eyebrow at this, knowing that Blaise must have done something stupid to make a person like Tracey Davis slap him

"I snogged another girl", Blaise explained as he saw the look Draco was giving him. Draco was silent. It was funny how easily relationships could be broken.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Blaise asked, determined to keep up a conversation.

"Daydreaming", Draco replied. It was the truth. That's what he was doing. Dreaming about all the different possibilities he had, if he just went to talk to Astoria.

"Why? I thought you were supposed to be doing...you know...something", Blaise said. He knew about Draco's task, but he wasn't absolutely sure about the details.

"I am", Draco replied, still not getting up from his bed. This was too important. He needed to figure out his feelings towards Astoria. If he even had any feelings towards Astoria.

"Do I want to know?" Blaise suddenly asked. This made Draco look at him for a moment. His friend was staring him with an expression that clearly stated that he knew what Draco was thinking.

"No", Draco said. A hint of a smile appeared on Blaise's face as he sat down on to his own bed.

"Is this about some girl?" he asked.

"No", Draco said, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"So, what's her name? I thought you were with Pansy", Blaise thought this was far too interesting to let go. Was Draco cheating on Pansy? Were they even together? And more importantly, who was the new girl in the picture?

"She's just a daydream", Draco said. Blaise was about to ask him more questions, but then Draco got up and walked out of the dormitory. Apparently he'd stopped daydreaming. For now.

_**REVIEW! Oh, and feel free to request for pairings/characters. They must be Slytherin, or at least the other one has to be. :)**_


	6. Astronomy Tower

**Pairing: Daphne/Graham**

**Prompt: Astronomy Tower**

Daphne climbed the stairs leading to the Astronomy tower. Her heart was beating harder than ever. Was she really doing this?

Once Daphne reached the top of the stairs, she stopped. In front of her, stood the most perfect man she'd ever met. Graham Montague, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He'd been helping her with her Astronomy homework recently. Not that she really needed help, she just enjoyed having Graham around.

Daphne considered herself to be very lucky, since she was only a fifth year and Graham was in his seventh year. Not many girls got to date a man like Graham. Not in Daphne's opinion anyway.

"What sort of problem do you have this time?" Graham asked with an amused look on his face. He was aware of the fact that Daphne was brilliant when it came to Astronomy, and didn't really need his help, but he didn't mind. He got to spend time with a beautiful girl, without making anyone suspect a thing.

"Planets' movements. I don't understand a thing", Daphne admitted, smiling. She was holding a thick book about Astronomy. Graham glanced at the book and raised an eyebrow. Suddenly the book fell to the floor as he kissed her.

Daphne couldn't help but to feel a little dizzy. He'd never kissed her like that before. Sure, they'd kissed a few times but not like that. It had never been quite so...passionate.

"What was that about?" Daphne inquired with a smile.

"Well, my time at Hogwarts is ending. I just wanted a kiss before I leave", Graham said. The thought had never really crossed Daphne's mind. He was leaving and then she'd be all alone.

"Don't worry. I'll write, and we can meet on the holidays", he promised in a hushed tone and kissed her again.

"Okay", Daphne knew that she sounded like a silly little school girl, but so what? That's what she really was, wasn't it? At least she felt a bit silly, kissing her boyfriend or whatever he was, in the tallest tower of Hogwarts.

"I'm going to miss you, you know", Graham whispered. Daphne just nodded. She already knew that. But she also knew that once Graham was out of Hogwarts, their relationship would most likely end. After all, why would he want to be tied to a girlfriend who was at Hogwarts, when he could date any girl he wanted?

"Aren't you going to miss me?" he asked. Daphne smiled a little.

"Sure I am. How am I ever going to finish my Astronomy homework, once you're gone?" she said. This seemed to upset Graham a little.

"I won't be gone. I'll just be away for a while. We'll meet again. And once you're out of Hogwarts, we can do whatever we want. Get married, or whatever it is that girls dream of", Daphne laughed a little at Graham's plans. Sure they were sweet but a bit unrealistic.

"Sure", Daphne said anyway. She didn't mind dreaming about marriage. It was what her parents wanted from her. That she married a pureblood wizard. That was all they really expected. Graham was a pureblood, so they could have nothing to say againts him.

Suddenly someone laughed behind them. Daphne turned around to face a very familiar face.

"Astoria!", she exclaimed, "Go away!"

"I'm sorry. I had no idea you were here. Believe me. Not something I want to see", Astoria said with a huge grin on her face, "But I have to ask. Is this something mom and father know about?"

Needless to say, this made Daphne rather angry. It was really a speciality of Astoria's, getting Daphne to the brink of utter rage. Even Graham thought it to be very amusing as he watched his grilfriend chase her little sister down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.


	7. Solace

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry that this one took me longer to write. Or actually, I had it written down all along, but I just couldn't find the time to publish it. Anyway, I'm still taking requests if any one want to suggest a pairing

**Pairing: Again, hints of Draco/Astoria but nothing else. Just some Slytherin friendship.**

**Prompt: Solace**

Theodore Nott walked in to the Great Hall with a frown on his face. He was confused, which was very rare. There weren't many things that Theodore Nott didn't understand. But this was certainly one of them. Dumbledore was dead. Draco was gone. It was impossible, but at the same time so obvious. Draco had succeeded in his task.

Theodore sat down to the Slytherin table, next to Blaise.

"Did you hear already?" Blaise asked, not looking up from his plate. Theodore nodded, assuming that he was talking about Dumbledore's death in general.

"I wonder why Draco couldn't do it. He was so close", Blaise then proceeded to say. This made Theodore freeze for a moment. Draco hadn't murdered Dumbledore?

"Who did it for him?" Theodore asked his friend.

"Snape", Blaise said. Theodore dropped the fork he had just picked up. Was Blaise joking? Was he supposed to believe that Severus Snape had killed Dumbledore? He was a teacher for Merlin's sake!

"Hi", said a girl voice, as Pansy Parkinson sat down opposite to Theodore and Blaise. "I can't believe he's really gone away", she said. Blaise nodded slightly, making clear that Pansy had been heard.

"I can't believe she even dares to look towards us!", Pansy suddenly said. Both Theodore and Blaise turned to look at the girl she was staring. The girl's hair was the same colour as chocolate, and she was indeed staring at them. Her eyes were blue, that much was clear.

"Isn't she a fourth year?" Blaise asked, making a connection to something Draco had once said. Pansy nodded.

"It seems that she had a crush on Draco", she explained. Blaise smiled a little.

"Are you sure that that's all it was?" he asked. Pansy looked like he had just claimed that world was flat or something of that sort.

"Yes. Draco would have never done that to me", she said with a proud look. Theodore and Blaise exchanged looks which clearly stated that they disagreed. If Draco was attracted to this fourth year girl, he might have easily left Pansy. It was no secret that their relationship wasn't as strong as Pansy claimed.

"It doesn't give much solace, knowing that he didn't do it. His father'll be furious", Theodore stated, staring at his plate. Blaise nodded while Pansy continued to stare at the fourth year.

"Nothing gives much solace anymore", she suddenly said and walked out of the great hall.

Blaise and Theodore exchanged looks.

"Women", they mumbled at the same time, which caused them to smile even though they knew that Pansy was right.


	8. Without Love

**Prompt: Without Love, We Are Birds With Broken Wings**

**Pairing: Draco/Astoria**

Draco sat alone in his flat, not quite sure what to do or where to go. Just a few days ago, he and his whole family had been cleared of all charges in front of the whole wizengamont.

For some reason, Draco had woken up in the middle of the night. He had had a nightmare, which wasn't so rare, but that nightmare had been different than the ones he usually had. This one had been about Bellatrix. In the dream, he had watched how Bellatrix killed everyone he loved. His mother, his father...even Astoria. Not that he loved Astoria! Of course he didn't love her! He didn't really even know her!

So, after the nightmare, Draco hadn't been able to sleep which is why he was sitting on a sofa in front of a fireplace in his flat, at six o'clock in the morning, thinking about Bellatrix. She had been insane. Completely and utterly insane.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Draco went to open the door, only to find Astoria Greengrass standing behind it.

"I got you letter", Astoria said, holding up a piece of paper. Draco nodded and let her in to his flat. He could barely remember sending Astoria a letter around four in the morning. He wasn't sure what exactly he had written. He was sure it had included something about his dream, or maybe just some other dream.

Astoria sat down on the sofa, next to Draco.

"What's going on?" she asked, "I honestly got a bit scared when you sent me a letter at half past four in the morning. You realize how crazy that is, right?"

"Yes, I do realize that. I just needed someone to talk to", he said. Astoria nodded.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Draco leaned back a little, thinking about Astoria's question. It had never occured to him that once he'd actually have to say something, he couldn't. Astoria seemed to realize this.

"Okay. What was that dream about? You know, the one you mentioned in the letter?"

"It was about Bellatrix. She was...killing people. A lot of people", Draco said quietly. He didn't usually talk to people like this. It wasn't natural to him. He didn't talk to people, and people didn't talk to him. It was easier that way.

"Ah. No wonder you sent me a letter. I would've been a bit freaked out too if I had a dream about Bellatrix", Astoria said.

"I didn't freak out! I just...do you think...what if...she was related to me, you know", he said. Astoria raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yes, I am aware of that"

"Well, do you think that I could...", these were propably few of the least composed sentences he had ever spoken in his life.

"Do I think that you could end up like her? Absolutely not", Astoria assured.

"Why?"

"Why?" Astoria asked, repeating Draco's question, "Because...it's almost like...well...without love, we are birds with broken wings"

"What?" Draco stared at Astoria in confusion for a moment. Had she lost her mind?

"Bellatrix never loved anyone, except for the Dark Lord. And he didn't love anyone. Not even himself. But you love people. You love your parents. And you most certainly love yourself", she said. Draco pondered at this for a moment. Maybe she was right. _Of course she's right!_ Draco told himself, _She's always right_

"Was there something else?" Astoria asked.

"No. Are you leaving?" For some unknown reason, Draco felt terrified at the thought of Astoria leaving.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to. My parents are going to be missing me soon", she said, "Unless, of course, you'd be willing to make some tea, in which case I would have to stay"

"Why would you have to stay?"

"My mother always taught me that if someone offers you tea, you shouldn't say no", Astoria explained. A huge grin spread on Draco's face.

"In that case", he said, "Would you like to have some tea?"


	9. Ghosts

**Pairing: None really, just a peek in to the brain of Narcissa Malfoy**

**Prompt: Ghosts**

Narcissa used to ask herself what ghosts were. When she was little, she would always ask her mother and even sometimes her father about ghosts and how you could become one.

Narcissa was 10 years old when she first learned the truth about ghosts. But that did not mean that her interest in ghosts had faded away. No, not at all. Once Narcissa got in to Hogwarts and saw ghosts for the first time in her life, she was mesmerized. They were...beautiful. Somehow they reminded her of some of her relatives.

They were there, but yet so far away. Just like Narcissa's family, they were right there in front of her, talking to her, giving advice to her, but yet she could not reach them. She could not reach out and take the hand of a ghosts, just like she couldn't reach out and hold the hand of her mother.

Being a pureblood came with a lot of pressure. Even Narcissa, at the young age of eleven, knew the rules that bound the pureblood society. Mudbloods were scum. So were half-bloods. And talking about beasts like werewolves was completely forbidden, because Narcissa's mother thought that even the word sounded filthy.

When Narcissa had reached the age of twelve, she had made a decision. She would never be like her parents. She and whoever she would marry, would be great parents and their possible child would never fear them.

But over 20 years later, as Narcissa watched her son as he sat on a chair reading a book, she realized that she had failed. She had become a ghost. She was right there next to her son, but there was nothing she could do to remove the pain from his heart. He was already out of reach.


	10. Emptiness

**Characters: Andromeda and Teddy**

Andromeda stared in horror at her daughters pale face. How could this happen to her? Her daughter, her baby girl, was dead. And her son-in-law, also dead.

Andromeda kneeled next to Nymphadora's still body and she could feel how the tears streamed down her cheeks. Teddy was also crying in her arms. She slowly turned to look at Remus. He looked so...so...vulnerable. That was something Remus had never been. Vulnerable. _They were both so strong,_ Andromeda thought to herself.

She knew that her sister was also dead. Dear insane Bellatrix. But she couldn't even bring herself to care. Bellatrix had murdered Nymohadora. Bellatrix, her own sister, had murdered her little baby. Nymphadora had been so young. She had just become a mother! And now she was dead, and her son would grow up without a mother. Sure, Teddy would always have Andromeda but it was not the same. Andromeda knew that.

And now, Andromeda would have to care of Teddy alone. Because Nymphadore and Remus weren't the only ones who had died. Ted! Her darling Ted! Gone forever!

How this had happened to her, Andromeda didn't know. How was it possible, that in a matter of months, she had lost almost everyone she loved. Her husband. Her daughter. Her son-in-law. All dead. All gone.

As Andromeda lifted her head up so that she could see both her daughter's and Remus' face, she felt something she'd never quite felt before. Emptiness. There was nothing for her anymore.

Then suddenly she realized that the baby in her arms was crying. She looked at Teddy. Little Teddy, who was crying more than ever before. Slowly, Andromeda hugged the baby to her chest and whispered that everything was going to be alright. That everything would be okay. That was a promise she intended to keep. A promise she had to keep.

The feeling of emptiness was going to have to go away. It had to disappear in order for Teddy to be alright. So, with one last glance at her daughter, Andromeda let her feelings free. She was surprised to find that instead of emptiness, she felt love. Love for her daughter and grandson. Love for her husband and her son-in-law. Love for people who had fought so that children like Teddy would survive.

She smiled at Teddy who had now stopped crying and was staring at her instead. His hair had once again changed color. It was now blue. Then, in a second, it was purple.

"Purple, huh?" she asked Teddy. The little boy, who propably had no idea what his grandmother was saying, smiled widely and changed the color of his hair again, so that it matched the one of his grandmother, whose hair he was desperately trying to reach. Seriously, why did people never let him play with their hair?


	11. In The End, It Doesn't Matter

Andromeda had never been this terrified in her life. She was walking towards the Slytherin table, to tell her sisters some news. She knew that Cissy would be furious at her, but she also hoped that she'd understand. _'Cissy will understand', _she told herself.

_Of course Cissy will understand. Why wouldn't she? She's in love, she knows what it feels like,_ Andromeda assured herself. But at the sight of her sister, she stopped. Was she really going to do this? Was she going to tell her something that could propably make the family throw her out.

"Is something bothering you Dromeda?" Narcissa asked as she noticed her sister standing behind her.

"N-No. I...I have some news. Great news, actually", she said.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Narcissa asked. Andromeda took a deep breath and sat next to her sister.

"As you know", she started, "this is my last year at Hogwarts. In a few days, we'll be going to home and I'm sure that mother and father will try to make me marry some stranger" Narcissa nodded at this. It was no secret that their parents were not pleased with Andromeda. After all, she had not managed to find herself a pureblood husband from Hogwarts like her sisters had. Even Narcissa, Andromeda's little sister, had a man in her sight.

"I'm not going to marry a stranger, Cissy. I'm already in love with someone else", Andromeda explained. A smile spread on Narcissa's face.

"That is great news, indeed", she said. Andromeda smiled a bit too.

"I don't think you understood me. I'm not going to marry a pureblood", she said. Narcissa's smile faded and she got paler. She seemed to be frozen.

"What do you mean you're not marrying a pureblood?" she asked quietly.

"Ted asked me to marry him and I said yes", Andromeda said. Narccisa still didn't move.

"Ted who?" she asked.

"Tonks. Ted Tonks", Andromeda admitted. Narcissa's eyes widened in horror.

"You're not serious", she hissed, "He's a...a...a mudblood, for Merlin's sake! You can't marry him! It's wrong!"

"No. It's the right thing to do. I love Ted and we're getting married, whether you like it or not", Andromeda felt defeated. She had thought that Narcissa would understand.

"What about mother and father? They will never let you marry scum like Tonks!" Narcissa sounded almost happy, as if Andromeda would be bound to stop acting so foolish now.

"I don't care. I'm marrying Ted", Andromeda said. Narcissa sat frozen in her seat again.

"Well then I am sorry", she said and stood up. Without another word, Narcissa walked to the other end of the table.

That was the last time Andromeda really talked to her sister. Once she got home and told her parents that she would elope with Ted, she was disowned. Her sisters seemed to hate her. But for some reason the memories of Narcissa and Bellatrix never left Andromeda. They were like ghosts in the darkest corner of her mind. Even after Bellatrix was sent to Azkaban and Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy. They were always the same age, haunting her.

One memory in particular. Even years after Andromeda left the Blacks, years after Nymphadora was born, she could still remember Narcissa. Her dear Cissy, saying that she was sorry.

And it wasn't only Andromeda that suffered. Not really. Narcissa remembered too. Andromeda had been her favourite sister. But as years went by, Andromeda turned in to a ghost in Narcissa's mind. She could see her so clearly, but still Andromeda was too far to reach. It was like trying to catch smoke.

Even Bellatrix was a little sad about her sister in some deep corner of her insane mind. But just like so many other things, Andromeda was something she didn't want to see or talk about.

After Ted died, Andromeda felt so alone. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would wake up, hoping that her sisters, Narcissa at least, wouldn't be a ghost. That she'd be there, and say that it was going to be alright. But Andromeda knew that it wasn't going to happen. Narcissa was already lost. She had been a ghost to her, for too long.

And soon Andromeda decided that in the end, it didn't matter how much she hoped for her sisters' or husband's or daughter's return. It never did. Because hoping would never bring them back to her.

_**Reviews would make me really happy.**_


	12. Serenade

**_AN:_ ** I'm trying to make up for the fact that I haven't updated this story as often as I promised. So I hope you really like this story. And for those of you who follow my other story, For Every Frozen Heart, I'm glad to say that there will be an update next week.

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**Pairing: Blaise Zabini/Tracey Davis**

When Blaise Zabini was 10 yars old, he heard her mother's husband sing to her. It was husband number four if he remembered correctly. It sounded so awful and embarrasing that on that day, Blaise promised himself that he would never, _never,_ sing to a girl. No matter how important the girl was. No matter if it was his girlfriend, his wife or just a friend asking to hear if he had a good voice.

But as Blaise watched Tracey and Theodore together, he couldn't help but to wonder if serenading to Tracey would make her love him again. Not that he cared! He was Blaise Zabini for Merlin's sake. He didn't care whether or not someone like Tracey Davis liked him.

But then again, as Blaise loked around and saw all the happy couples around him, he felt so alone. Being alone on the first Valentine's day after the war was terrible. Even Malfoy had someone!

So, later that night, Blaise broke his promise and sang to Tracey. It's really unnecessary to say that Theodore very soon out of the picture.

Years later, when Blaise was sitting in his living room with his son, he told him to remember that if there was nothing else to be done, serenades would always work.


	13. Blood

**Prompt: Blood**

**Characters: Bellatrix**

Blood. It was all she could see. All she really wanted to see. _Crazy they call me,_ she though to herself as she stared at the bodies in front of her. The cruciatus curse only had one bad side. It didn't make that many physical marks. There was no blood. But that was going to be fixed.

A year or two later, as Bellatrix sat in her small cell in Azkaban, she felt sort of empty. Was the Dark Lord truly gone? Surely, if he was alive, he would have helped her escape. Her, his most loyal servant.

But no. She was still in Azkaban.

Bellatrix rested her head againts the wall of the cell and thought of the most important thing in her life. The Dark Lord. He was alive. He had to be. And someday he would find his strength and help her escape and together they would make the world a better place. A place where only the purest of bloodlines would survive. Mudbloods would be gone.

Yes, the Dark Lord would return and he would need her. She was a pureblood and she was loyal.

There are no words to describe the joy that Bellatrix felt when finally, after almost fifteen years, she got out of Azkaban. When the Dark Lord finally freed her. For a short period of time Bellatrix was able to do what she loved the most. For a short, but yet somehow a too long, period of time she saw blood again. Until she tried to kill the wrong girl.

**Feel free to review and suggest characters or pairings. **


	14. Omen

**Pairing: None really...**

For the first time in many years, all the Slytherin students were sitting in the common room. Some looked pleased, others were terrified. No words were spoken while they waited for Snape. He was the head of Slytherin house, so surely he would come and explain to them why there was a Dark Mark in the sky above the Astronomy Tower.

Some of the older students had been outside when it had appeared but they could not say who had cast it. It had to be a Death Eater, but how would a Death Eater get in to Hogwarts? Dumbledore had said that the school was protected, that it was safe. But now the Mark was glowing over the school.

It was an omen known to many of the Slytherin students. Some of their parents bore the same mark on their left arm. But very few of the students liked to remind others of that. None except for people like Draco Malfoy and his friends.

Some of the Slytherins, like Pansy Parkinson for example, looked around the common room, and noticed a familiar face missing. Where on earth was Draco? He couldn't have just vanished like that. If there was anyone who should have been there, it was Draco Malfoy. He should've been there, telling them why the Death Eaters were in the castle, right? He knew all sorts of things about the Death Eaters.

It took Pansy a moment to realize just why Draco wasn't there. But once she did understand, she smiled brightly. Her precious Draco was completing his task. Not that Pansy really knew anything about the nature of this task, since Draco hadn't told her. But Pansy Parkinson wasn't quite as stupid as people thought. Self centered, vain and a little foolish, sure, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew that Draco had been acting a bit odd recently. She was his girlfriend, of course she had noticed. And as Pansy thought of the Dark Mark above the Astronomy Tower, she couldn't help but to feel proud. Little did she know that the Mark wasn't just an omen for the beginning of a new era, but it was also the beginning of a year of darkness. A year after which nothing would be the same again.


	15. Butterflies

**Prompt: Butterflies in your stomach**

**Pairing: Daphne/Graham**

Daphne had always heard how people said that they had butterflies in their stomach, but she'd never quite understood the meaning of those words. Until now, that is.

Daphne was staring at the door of the Greengrass manor, waiting for it to open. The Battle of Hogwarts was over and Voldemort was dead, she knew that. So why wasn't Graham already there? He'd promised to come and see her, but he wasn't there. Nor was Astoria. For a moment there was a feeling of sickness in Daphne's stomach. They weren't dead, were they?

Suddenly the door opened and Astoria stepped in. She looked tired, but otherwise okay. She was smiling.

"Why do you look so disappointed? Aren't you glad to see me?" she asked. Daphne looked at her sister in confusion.

"Of course I am..."

"I know, I know", Astoria said, cutting off her sentence, "Graham's on his way. He's taking off his coat as we speak"

And with that Astoria walked to Merlin knows where. Daphne, on the other hand, stayed right where she was and could feel herself getting more and more nervous. The battle was over and everything was alright. But would Graham still want to be with her? Would he be bored with her after all the excitement of the war was over?

However, all those thoughts vanished in to thin air as Graham opened the door. Daphne ran to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Graham hugged her back with the same enthusiasm.

Suddenly Daphne felt how warm tears rolled down her cheeks. But it was alright, because Graham was right there with her.


	16. Blush

**Prompt: Blush**

**Pairing: Narcissa and Lucius**

Young Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. She was going to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow with her friends. She was very excited about that. Even her older sister Bellatrix was coming. Not that Narcissa was going to spend much time with her. Even though Narcissa liked her sister, Bellatrix sometimes frightened her. Quite a lot actually. The way Bellatrix spoke about mudbloods and other filth like them was sometimes a bit too...well, terrible.

But that didn't really matter this time. This time she was going to Hogsmeade with her friends, which meant that they would be talking about boys and well, boys. What else did they have to talk about? Of course there would be the part where they almost cruelly judged other girls' appearences, but that was just as fun to Narcissa. After all, she was beautiful, pureblooded and liked. She was everything that a Black was supposed to be.

Narcissa was so deep in thought that she didn't notice how a young but rather handsome boy approached her until he was standing right next to her. The boy cleared his throat to get Narcissa's attention.

"Is this seat taken?" the boy asked. Narcissa smiled and shook her head. She knew exactly who this boy was, but she wasn't quite sure what he was doing there talking to her. Over the boy's shoulder, Narcissa saw a few of her friends who had been meaning to come and sit next to her, but who were now standing still, too shocked to move.

"I'm sorry that I haven't introduced myself", the boy said. Narcissa shook her head a little.

"It is alright. I know who you are", she said. The boy smiled.

"I still feel that I must be polite and instroduce myself. My name is Lucius. Lucius Malfoy"

"And I'm Narcissa. Narcissa Black", Narcissa said.

"Narcissa, I was wondering, or more like hoping that you could accompany me to Hogsmeade tomorrow", Lucius said. Narcissa blushed more furiously than ever before in her life.

"Yes, I would love that", she said, keeping her tone in check. Lucius nodded and smiled.

"Thank you. I will see you tomorrow then", he said. Narcissa merely nodded. Lucius gave one last charming smile and left. As soon as he was gone, Narcissa's friends came to ask her what Malfoy had wanted. Narcissa didn't answer to any of them, not until her sister showed up.

"Are you blushing, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked as she walked by. "What happened?"

"Lucius Malfoy just asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him", Narcissa said. Bellatrix's eyes widened a bit.

"Malfoy?", she asked. Then shrugging slightly she continued: "Well, at least he's a proper pureblood"


	17. Evanescent

Pansy was sitting on the sofa, eagerly waiting for Draco to appear. He had sent her a letter, saying that they needed to talk. Pansy was convinced that this was going to be the happiest day of her life. He was going to ask her to marry him. That had to be it.

When Draco walked through the door, Pansy ran to him and hugged him, but for some reason Draco pushed her away.

"Pansy, we need to talk", he said. Pansy nodded and guided Draco to the couch.

"What is it, love?" she asked him. Draco moved back a bit, so that they were sitting further apart.

"As you know"; Draco began, "the war has ended. It ended a long time ago, for me at least. Because during the wizarding war, I was going through another war in my mind"

Pansy frowned. This didn't sound like a proposal.

"And during the last few months of the wizarding war, I realized just how evanescent our relationship was going to be. And that I was going to have to tell you, what I'm telling you now", Draco continued. Pansy's mouth was hanging open by now and she couldn't believe a word she was hearing.

"What are you talking about, Drake?" she asked and attempted to take his hand. But Draco pulled his hand away and continued with his speech.

"There's someone else, Pansy. Someone else that has become very important to me. More important than anyone else, to be honest. And that is why we can no longer be together"

"So, you're leaving me for another woman?" Pansy asked in disbelief. Draco nodded.

"I care about her more than I thought I'd care about anyone. And I cannot just stand by and watch her go and marry someone else. I need to be with her. I need her", he said. Pansy's eyes widened even more.

"Wait a second. Are you going to marry her?" she shrieked. Draco nodded again.

"As I said, I really have no choice"

"Who is it?" Pansy asked.

"Astoria. Astoria Greengrass" Pansy jumped off of the couch and stared at Draco as if he'd said that he was marrying the giant squib.

"Her! A Greengrass?! But she's not even pretty! She's horrible", Pansy screamed, then, after a small pause, she smiled. "This is a joke, isn't it? Yes, that's what's going on. You're joking"

"No. And Pansy, you know that we would have never lasted for long anyway. I was only with you because you adored me so much and it was nice to have someone always telling me that I was the best. But that's over now. We are over now", Draco said as he got up from the couch.

Pansy stared at Draco with her eyes wide, still not believing what had happened. Was he really leaving her?

"Goodbye Pansy", Draco said, and then with a slight pop he was gone.

Years later, as Pansy was getting married, she realized that Draco had been right. They had never been right for each other. They had never belonged together. And believe it or not, Pansy was quite alright with that.


	18. Fireflies

**Prompt: **Fireflies

**Pairing/Characters: Severus Snape**

Severus Snape sat alone under a tree on the grounds of Hogwarts. It was getting dark, but he didn't really care. Severus liked the darkness. It suited him so well.

As he sat under the tree he thought of Lily. Lily Evans. The girl he was in love with, the girl she was going to lose to his worst enemy. Potter. Oh how much Sevreus hated James Potter. Potter had humiliated him countless times and now he was after Lily. And Severus suspected that it had been about Lily all along.

That thought alone made him almost mad with anger and a bit of jealousy. Because it seemed that James Potter wasn't alone with his feelings. Even though Lily continued to reject Potter, it was clear to Severus that there was something behind that tone of her voice when she spoke to Potter. Curiosity, perhaps. The need to know what it would be like to date James Potter.

Severus was made almost sick with the thought of those two together, so he turned back to his potions book. The book was filled with all kinds of writings. Just as Severus was about to write down another sentence, something caught his eye. A light.

Turning quickly, afraid that it was Potter and his friends again, Severus faced the light. But it wasn't Potter. It was a firefly. Just one. Then another appeared. And then another, and a few more. Soon there were plenty of fireflies flying around Severus. There must have been hundreds and he couldn't help but to wonder if anyone had seen them before.

Severus didn't really care for pretty things like fireflies, but there was something about them that he liked. The light. They reminded him of another light. The one that shone in Lily's eyes as she laughed and smiled. The one that was so clear in her voice when she spoke. The same light that easily turned in to a fire when she got angry. The same light that could be so kind but yet so cruel.

Severus must have sat there for hours staring at the fireflies, for when he returned to the castle, they were all he could think of. They, and of course, one Lily Evans.


	19. Perfection

**AN: **So this is the 19th chapter. I hope you all like it. I'd like to mention that if you want to, you can now follow me on tumblr at

Remember to review!

**Pairing: Andromeda and Ted Tonks**

Andromeda sat alone in the bathroom of Ted's house. She was wearing a long, beautiful wedding gown and she was nervous. This was the day she had been waiting for for so long. For her entire life she had been taught that one day she would get married and it would be a perfect match. But her parents had never found her that perfect match. She found the love of her life all by herself. Ted. None of her family members approved, of course and Andromeda knew that even though she had sent invitations to her sisters, they would not come.

But still as Andromeda prepared to walk down the aisle escourted by Ted's father, since her own father would have rather died than come to her wedding, Andromeda hoped that at least Narcissa would be there. Otherwise it wouldn't be perfect.

But as she stepped trough the curtain to the huge tent set on Ted's backyard, she understood that she didn't need her sisters to achieve perfection. This was all she needed.

At the other end of the aisle, she saw Ted smiling at her, reassuring that everything was going to be alright. They were going to be together forever.

And as Andromeda was finally facing Ted, she realized that this was really all the perfection she needed.


	20. Used

**Prompt: Used**

**Pairing: Astoria/Draco, and some insight on the Greengrass family**

Astoria was used to the fact that her sister was the better known Greengrass. She was used to people staring at her, looking a little confused when she told them that she was Daphne's sister. She was used to them telling her that they hadn't even known that the Greegrass family had a younger daughter, but that they were all so glad to meet her. She was used to all of that. But that didn't mean she liked it.

When she was young, Astoria loved her birthdays. She would always get a nice present from her parents and another one from her sister. The ones from her sister were usually necklaces or other jewerly that Daphne no longer liked. Used pieces that Astoria didn't wear. But she never told her sister how she felt about it. She didn't tell Daphne how she hated the fact that Daphne couldn't bother herself enough to go to Diagon Alley and buy Astoria a book or something.

No one really knew how much she hated used gifts. No one, except for Draco. Draco never gave her a used gift. Except for one time. It wasn't even Astoria's birthday and it wasn't a real gift really. It was something else. An engagement ring. Draco explained to her, how his great-grandmother had used the ring and how after her death it had been left in a vault in Gringotts. Apparently Draco had gone there, found the ring and had it altered slightly that instead of a small green diamond, it now held a quite large blue diamond.

After telling Draco that she would very much like to marry him, Astoria spent hours just staring at the ring. And in the end she came to a conclusion: maybe used gifts weren't that bad after all.


End file.
